Defense Production Act Considered for Spirit Airlines Bailout
Monitor whether the DPA invocation actually proceeds and what legal justification is provided for using national security emergency powers for a private airline's financial troubles.
Using the Defense Production Act for a corporate bailout raises modest separation-of-powers concerns (emergency powers for non-emergency) and corruption questions (selective corporate assistance), but the action is easily reversible and affects a narrow population. The B-score is significantly higher due to strong media-friendliness (easy outrage angle about 'socialism for corporations'), novelty (unusual DPA application), and timing alongside more serious institutional actions like Science Board firings and DOJ probe drops, creating a coverage-to-substance mismatch.